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1965 BSCC Season
The 1965 British Saloon Car Championship was the eighth season of the BSCC, which saw Roy Pierpoint take the title, despite being tied on points with Warwick Banks at the end of the season.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1965%20BSCC.html The season was also the first in which a Team Championship was awarded, being won by Weybridge Engineering. Regulations 1965 was the final year that Group 2 regulations were followed (in their first guise), which meant that teams were able to continue to use equipment from the previous year, as well as from the European Saloon Car Championship. Classes The BSCC continued to use the same class system as before, with four different classes, although the boundaries between them were changed. Points The same points system which had been setup in 1961 remained in use. Round by Round 1965 saw nine races at eight meetings, with the championship going to the wire with Pierpoint and Banks tying on points. First Round: 1965 Brands Hatch I (Race of Champions) Despite a strong showing in qualifying, Alan Hutcheson's Ford Galaxie was unable to start the race, leaving the Alan Mann prepared Ford Mustangs of Pierpoint, Mike Salmon and Gawaine Baillie to battle for the honours in Class D.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Brands%20Hatch%20RoC.html Although reigning champion Jim Clark was able to jump them at the start (with team mate Jack Sears leaping to third from fifth), Pierpoint and Salmon were able to take victory after a pitstop and later retirement for Clark for a loose wheel. Pierpoint and Sears battled for the lead in the aftermath of Clark's retirement, but a puncture for Sears on lap 17 (three from the end) allowed Salmon to pass for second. Baillie finished the race fifth overall to take third in class D. With Clark and Sears retiring their Team Lotus cars, the honours in Class C fell to Andre Baldet, over a minute ahead of the only other surviving car in Class C, that of John Nicholson. Class B was won by the Austin Mini Cooper S of John Rhodes, who had battled with Baldet for the final podium position. Chris Craft and Mike Young finished second and third in Class B, although were later disqualified for not declaring their extended track widths and using illegal inlet manifolds. Hence, Rhodes was joined on the podium by Harry Ratcliffe and Tony Lanfranchi in their Morris built Cooper Ss. Class A, which saw the same mix of Cooper Ss from Austin and Morris, but with smaller (970cc) engines, was won by Warwick Banks, taking victory from Mike Campbell-Cole and Ted Savory. However, the race was dominated by the numerous incidents that resulted from the huge 34 car field. The most significant of these was seen on lap nine, when Chris Montague and Bill McGovern crashed in seperate incidents at Paddock Hill Bend. Montague spun into the ditch on the outside of the corner, while McGovern flipped his car onto its roof. Montague helped McGovern out of his car (both unhurt), with a total of seventeen cars ultimately retiring (or being disqualified) from the opening round of 1965. Second Round: 1965 Oulton Park I (Oulton Park International) Round two of the season saw the field gather in support of the non-championship Formula One meeting at Oulton Park. The start of the race saw Pierpoint and John Whitmore (standing in for Clark at Team Lotus) sandwich the John Willment Automobiles Lotus Cortina of Frank Gardner, with the trio taking an early lead.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Oulton%20Park.html Pierpoint went on to win the race, with fellow Mustang driver Baillie taking Whitmore and Gardner during the mid stage of the race to take second. The only other entrant in Class D, Chris McLaren, was forced to retire his Jaguar Mk II early on, the final appearance of the Mk II in the BSCC. In Class C, Gardner survived his early crush to win the class, taking third overall. Whitmore was forced to retire on lap ten with a puncture, parking his car behind team mate Sears' car, which had been abandoned early on with an ignition issue. With Team Lotus out of the picture, Jack Newman and Robin Smith, on their BSCC debuts, to take second and third on the Class C podium. Class B saw Rhodes again battle with the Lotuses of Class C, with the Anglias opting not to compete (apart from Laurie Goodwin whom retired early on). Ratcliffe and Phil Middlehurst were best of the rest in Class B. Class A saw Banks claim a second victory of the year, virtually unchallenged for the entire race. Mike Campbell-Cole and Phil de Banks completed the podium, although all were fortunate to avoid the accident which claimed John Fitzpatrick and Baldet's cars. The pair, having duelled since the start of the race, made contact while Fitzpatrick led in Class B, resulting in both cars rolling. Both drivers were unhurt, although Fitzpatrick lost valuable points to Rhodes. Third Round: 1965 Snetterton Race three of the season, held at Snetterton in Norfolk, saw an added layer of interest in the Class D battle.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Snetterton%20BSCC.html Despite all being prepared by Alan Mann Racing, the three Mustangs of Pierpoint, Baillie and Salmon all decided to use tyres from different manufacturers. As it was, Salmon, using Dunlop tyres, won the race, having had Alan Hutcheson's Galaxie jump ahead of Pierpoint and Baillie at the start. Hutcheson would retire after blowing up his second engine of the year, while Pierpoint (using Goodyears) and Baillie (using Firestones) finished second and third, largely untroubled by the Lotuses of Class C. Class C witnessed an incident between the Team Lotus cars of Sears and Clark which ultimatly cost them victory. Sears ran into the back of Clark on the second lap, putting himself in the pits and damaging Clark's car. Gardner was able to overtake Clark on lap seven, pulling clear of the BRM engined car to win Class C. Sears recovered to take third behind Clark, ahead of the mass brawl of Classes A and B. The Cooper Car Co. entry of John Rhodes won in Class B, beating Lanfranchi and team mate Paddy Hopkirk to victory. Hopkirk was instructed to aid Warwick Banks' title charge, allowing the smaller engined car to keep with him on the straights. Montague was albe to split Hopkirk from his lesser engined team mate in the closing stages, but Banks had built a big enough lead that Gerry Marshall and John Fitzpatrick could not catch him before the end. Of note was the brand new entry of John Anstead, who imported a Fiat Abarth 1000 TC for the championship, although his pace was off that of the Minis. Fourth Round: 1965 Goodwood (St. Mary's Trophy) For the first time in 1965, the Team Lotus cars were able to perform as expected, taking victory overall.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Goodwood.html Clark leapt ahead of the Mustangs at the start, with team mate Sears pulling into second, and led the race as he did the year before. Sears, as the second driver at Team Lotus, and unwilling to cause harm to Clark's car again, spent the race defending Clark's lead from Salmon, Pierpoint and Gardner. Gardner finished third in Class C, and fifth overall. Class D was won initially by Mike Salmon, however he was disqualified in post race scrutineering for an illegal rear axle, giving Pierpoint (who had complained about the shortened race distance after the delayed Formula 3 race earlier in the day) victory in Class D. Baillie was promoted to second in class with Hutcheson retiring once more. In Class B, John Handley (returning with Team Broadspeed from the ESCC) took victory from the Don Moore Mini Cooper of Andrew Hedges, with Tony Lanfranchi finishing third. John Rhodes had impressed throughout, on pace with the leading Cortinas and Mustangs, finishing third overall, but was penalised sixty seconds for jumping the start. In the lesser Class A battle, Banks and John Terry collided on the first lap, putting both out of the race. This left Mike Campbell-Cole to take his first class victory in the hail storm of Goodwood, beating Anstead's Fiat and Anita Taylor in her Mini, the only finishers in Class A. Fifth Round: 1965 Silverstone (Silverstone International Trophy) Round five saw a dominant display by Pierpoint, who took pole, fastest lap and victory in his Mustang for Weybridge Engineering Co.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Silverstone%20Int.html Gawaine Baillie was able to finish second, ahead of the Team Lotus duo of Sears and Mike Spence (standing in for Jim Clark who had duties elsewhere). Frank Gardner completed the Class C podium having fended off Andre Baldet , while the third car in Class D of Jacquie Bond-Smith was forced to reitre. The Class A and B battles saw three pairs of cars finish in almost dead heats for positions, with Lanfranchi claiming his first victory by overhauling Fitzpatrick's Broadspeed Mini on the line. John D. Lewis claimed third in Class B, defending from Mike Young's Anglia and John Handley in the other Class B Broadspeed Mini. Class A saw Banks claim victory ahead of Campbell-Cole on the line, with the pair having been running virtually side-by-side for most of the race. Anstead claimed the second podium for his new Fiat Abarth by taking third, in a race which saw no major accidents. Sixth Round: 1965 Crystal Palace (The Norbury and Anerley Trophies) The sixth meeting of the year saw the field gather at the tight confines of the Crystal Palace circuit. The field was split into two, with classes A and B competing for the Anerley Trophy, after classes C and D fought for the Norbury Trophy.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Crystal%20Palace.html As it was, the bright red Mustang of Pierpoint proved too large for Clark, Sears and Gardner to get by, meaning Pierpoint was one win away from claiming maximum points for the season, while Clark delivered his second win of the year in Class C. Baillie finished second in Class D, ahead of another Formula One star in Jack Brabham. Hutcheson spun early on, blocking the majority of the track, meaning virtually the whole field had to find a way past the gargantuan Galaxie. In the Anerley Trophy race, Rhodes took victory in a race which claimed almost half the field. Rhodes' charge was eased when the in-form Lanfranchi and John Handley made contact on the first lap, leading both to retire, leaving Lewis and Chris Craft to fend off the Class A cars. John Fitzpatrick came closest to beating the Class B Minis and Anglias, taking victory from Gerry Marshall and Anstead, after Warwick Banks caused a collision early on that ended his race. Seventh Round: 1965 Brands Hatch II (Guards International Meeting) The race saw early contact between Sears and Clark, who had been leading before Brabham overhauled them in his Galaxie, which sent the world champion spinning (and later disqualified for outside assistance in returning to the track) and Sears into a battle for victory in Class C.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Brands%20Hatch%20Guards.html Brabham won the race, beating Pierpoint who got caught behind the squabbling Team Lotus cars. Baillie claimed third, although could not beat the leading cars in Class C, of Sears and Gardner. The main source of entertainment in the race, however, originated in the Minis of Classes A and B, who threw themselves around the circuit. Although Clark may have stolen the show with his three recovery drives, seeing him set a new lap record, a significant portion of which was completed on two wheels, John Cannadine was able to take his first victory in Class B, having a race long battle with Gordon Spice, Hedges and Peter Pilsworth. Banks took victory in Class A, after Fitzpatrick broke his seat, with Campbell-Cole and David Miller coming to blows for second (with Miller's Mini rolling itself into a ball). Harry Martin took third, with major incidents claiming Hopkirk, Mike Salmon, Mac Ross, Young and Chris Craft. Eighth Round: 1965 Oulton Park II (XIV Gold Cup) The final race of the year saw Clark produce a dominant display for victory, although he finished second on the road to Brabham (who would be disqualified in post race scrutineering).http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1965%20Oulton%20Park%20GC.html Sears followed Clark across the line, after the race was restarted after the first lap. Pierpoint was put into a tank slapper, which after numerous swings across the track had four cars hit him and put another few off the track. The field consertinered behind the incident, which resulted in numerous pitstops and leaking radiators after the restart. Pierpoint claimed the championship by taking victory in Class D, courtesy of Brabham and Baillie being excluded and retiring respectively. John Rhodes and Warwick Banks took the final class wins in the Mini dominated Classes A and B, with Banks missing out on the title having not won a race outright. Steve Neal and Young completed the podium in Class B, while John Handley and Bob Smith rounded off their season in Class A with podiums aswell. Ten cars retired from the race as a result of damage from the first lap accident. Entries Shown below is the full entry list for the 1965 British Saloon Car Championship, split by Class and ordered alphabetically by entrant: Final Standings 1965 was also the first time that the BSCC organised and maintained a teams championship, although the scoring for the championship is unknown. Champions Roy Pierpoint became the British Saloon Car Championship's seventh champion in its first eight seasons, with Weybridge Engineering Co. taking the first teams trophy (sponsored by Lombank). Class B was won by John Rhodes, with Jack Sears beating soon to be crowned World Champion Jim Clark to the Class C. Warwick Banks would feel hard done by, having matched Pierpoint's record like for like, but suffering from being unable to take overall victories in his Class A Mini Cooper S 970. References Category:Seasons